- Trump predicts Iran war will end ‘immediately after’ midterm election
Source: USA Today
“President Donald Trump has a new prediction for when the Iran war will end and Americans can expect gas prices to come down: immediately after the midterm elections. ‘I think the war is going to end immediately after the election,’ Trump said on Sept. 9, as he prepared to depart Joint Base Andrews for the GOP’s midterm convention in Dallas. ‘I think the war will end immediately after the election,’ he repeated. Iran can’t hold out for longer than that, Trump said of the election that’s in 55 days. ‘They’re desperate to try and affect the election, so that we can get a nice group of weak people in there, and leave them alone, and let them have their nuclear weapon,’ Trump said.” [editor’s note: Legally, the war never began and continues to be wholly illegal – TLK] (09/09/26)
- MO: Court opens contempt probe into Republican official over redistricting fight
Source: NBC News
“The no-holds-barred fight over congressional maps in Missouri has reached a new level of intensity with the state’s high court opening a contempt probe into Secretary of State Denny Hoskins. The Missouri Supreme Court late Tuesday issued an order asking Hoskins, a Republican, to explain ‘why he should not be held in contempt’ for violating a ruling last week that said the state cannot use a newly drawn GOP map. Despite the ruling, Hoskins continued to push to use the new map. The court also ordered Hoskins to appear in person when the judges hold a hearing in the case Thursday. Hoskins indicated in a post on X that he would not back down. … Should the Missouri Supreme Court ruling remain in effect, a map drawn in 2022, with six Republican-held seats and two Democratic-held seats, would be in place for the general election.” (09/09/26)
- As deadline nears, temporary protections for 200,000 Salvadoran immigrants in limbo
Source: SFGate
“Temporary legal protections for about 200,000 immigrants from El Salvador was in limbo Wednesday as a deadline neared for the Trump administration to decide if they should end, as it has done for hundreds of thousands from Venezuela, Haiti and other countries. The Temporary Protected Status designation expires Wednesday but the statute does not give a specific time for when that happens. If the Department of Homeland Security takes no action, protections are automatically extended for six months. This rare reprieve happened in May, when the protections were automatically extended to about 11,000 Lebanese, allowing them to stay and work in the U.S. for another 180 days. DHS said in a statement Wednesday that it will announce a decision on El Salvador ‘at the appropriate time’ and that protections would remain in place until then.” (09/09/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/temporary-protections-for-about-200-000-22423879.php
- Bangladesh in grips of world’s worst measles outbreak, with 1,000 dead in last 6 months
Source: CBC News [Canadian state media]
“Bangladesh, which once came close to eliminating measles, is facing its worst outbreak on record, with around 1,000 suspected and confirmed measles-related deaths reported since March, as hospitals struggle with overcrowding, shortages and a continuing influx of sick children. The South Asian country is currently experiencing the biggest measles outbreak in the world, according to a list on the U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website, recording more than 57,000 cases between January and June. But the numbers may be far higher than that, according to Bangladesh’s Health Ministry. Since the outbreak emerged in March, Bangladesh has recorded more than 166,000 suspected measles cases, including 19,835 laboratory-confirmed infections, according to Health Ministry data.” (09/09/26)
https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/bangladesh-worst-measles-outbreak-9.7337063
- Anthropic Alignment Lead Warns There’s ‘>10% Chance’ AI Could ‘Kill All Humans’ By Next Decade
Source: Forbes
“A senior researcher who leads Anthropic’s alignment efforts said Tuesday that many in the company believed AI could wipe out humanity and warned that the company is not on track to solve the issue of aligning AI’s goals with humanity’s, despite its efforts, after another researcher quit the company, accusing it of not acting responsibly. Evan Hubinger, the Alignment Science Lead at Anthropic, wrote on X that he and his colleagues do ‘earnestly believe AI could kill all humans,’ and he pegged his own estimate at more than 10% in the next decade. … Hubinger’s post responded to an X thread by another Anthropic researcher, Jacob Coxon, who announced he is resigning from the company over AI safety concerns.” (09/09/26)
- For first time in 20 years, UN nuclear watchdog board reports Iran to UN Security Council
Source: SFGate
“The U.N. atomic watchdog’s board on Wednesday reported Iran to the U.N. Security Council for the first time in 20 years, citing it for failure to cooperate in a long-running investigation into uranium traces detected by inspectors at undeclared sites. Western officials suspect that the traces could provide evidence that Iran had a secret nuclear weapons program until 2003. Iran says that it’s not pursuing nuclear weapons, and that its program is entirely peaceful. Reporting Iran to the Security Council opens the country to possible sanctions and asset freezes, though such punitive measures are unlikely because Iran’s allies Russia and China hold veto power on the panel. Twenty-three countries on the International Atomic Energy Agency ’s 35-member board of governors voted for Wednesday’s resolution at IAEA headquarters in Vienna. ” (09/09/26)
- EU court hands another defeat to Abramovich in fight against sanctions
Source: Politico
“The EU’s General Court has rejected Russian tycoon Roman Abramovich’s challenge to sanctions imposed on him following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, upholding asset freezes and travel restrictions against the billionaire. The Council of the EU acted within its powers when it extended the measures against the billionaire former owner of Chelsea Football Club in 2022 through September 2025 and March 2026, judges ruled, according to a statement issued by the Court on Wednesday. Abramovich, who holds Russian, Israeli and Portuguese nationality, is the majority shareholder in Evraz, one of Russia’s largest steel and mining groups. He also owns shares in Norilsk Nickel, a major producer of palladium and refined nickel. The EU Court said the bloc’s sanctions criteria were objective, sufficiently precise and proportionate. They target prominent businesspeople operating in Russia, particularly those active in sectors that provide significant revenue to the Russian government.” (09/09/26)
- Poll: Mistrust of US regime information is rising across major issues
Source: Houston Chronicle
“Americans are more skeptical of government information than they were a few years ago, with majorities now saying they have little or no trust in federal government information about elections and politics, foreign affairs or the environment, a new poll finds. The survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and USA Facts shows that while mistrust of government information has grown since 2024, it’s also higher than it was at the end of President Donald Trump’s first term, underscoring how his recent attempts to dismantle the federal bureaucracy may have affected public confidence in the executive branch, particularly among Democrats. … About 6 in 10 U.S. adults have low trust in information from the federal government about the environment, foreign affairs, elections and politics, abortion or immigration — saying they trust it ‘only a little’ or ‘not at all.'” (09/09/26)
- Israel opens embassy in Slovenia as small EU nation shifts policies
Source: SFGate
“Israel opened its first embassy in Slovenia on Wednesday, boosting relations with the small European Union nation even as ties sour with some longtime allies over its policy on illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar travelled to Ljubljana, Slovenia’s capital, for the occasion that asserts a shift in Slovenia’s policy toward Israel under the current right-wing Prime Minister Janez Jansa. Saar called the embassy opening a ‘historic day’ after a meeting with his Slovenian counterpart Tone Kajzer. He described Israel as ‘the only democracy in the Middle East and almost the only real and true partner of Europe’, the STA news agency reported. ‘Moreover, we are defending Europe, Europe’s security, directly and indirectly,’ Saar said, adding that ‘Israel is the fortress on the front line for Western civilization’. Hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters gathered outside the new embassy building to protest the visit, demanding the embassy’s closure.” (09/09/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/israel-opens-embassy-in-slovenia-as-small-eu-22424151.php
- UK: Regime Summons Air Traffic Boss After Major Outage as Flights Slowly Resume
Source: US News & World Report
“Flights from British airports resumed on Wednesday after a major air traffic failure, but questions mounted about the reliability of Britain’s aviation systems and ministers called in the flight control boss to explain the shutdown. The hours-long outage on Tuesday, which resulted in the cancellation of more than 1,000 flights and left hundreds of thousands of passengers stranded, has ramped up pressure on air traffic control provider NATS and its boss Martin Rolfe. Transport minister Heidi Alexander will later on Wednesday hear from Rolfe after she summoned him to explain what happened, amid concerns that the infrastructure and technology are not up to scratch. The shutdown comes three years after the last system meltdown in August 2023, when cancelled flights on one of the busiest travel days of the year cost airlines £100 million ($135 million).” (09/09/26)
- ‘South Park’ becomes ‘South America’
Source: CNBC
“Television comedy series ‘South Park’ has announced it is changing its name to ‘South America’ as the show is set to begin its 29th season on Sept. 16. The show’s creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone said, ‘Inspired by the bravery and patriotism of Apple and Google, we are changing the name of South Park to SOUTH AMERICA. We especially want to thank our parent company Paramount — a Skydance Capitulation.’ Parker and Stone’s statement comes after U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive order to rename Lake Ontario to Lake America amid a trade spat with Canada. Canadian officials said they will not recognize the new name.” (09/08/26)
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/09/tv-show-south-park-changes-show-name-south-america-trump.html
- TX: Republicans gathering for “Trump-a-palooza” convention in Dallas
Source: SFGate
“Republicans are gathering in Dallas on Wednesday for a highly unusual midterm convention, a ‘Trump-a-Palooza’ that will put President Donald Trump at the center of this fall’s midterm elections — whether the candidates running like it or not. New financial disclosures show Trump gave sizeable cash gifts to Natalie Harp and several other top aides. A White House official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the gifts were ‘entirely permissible under relevant legal and ethical standards’. And Americans are more skeptical of government information than they were a few years ago, with majorities now saying they have little or no trust in federal government information about elections and politics, foreign affairs or the environment, a new poll finds.” (09/09/26)
- Google to invest $15.1 billion in AI infrastructure in Finland
Source: United Press International
“U.S. Internet behemoth Google announced plans Wednesday to invest at least $15.1 billion into artificial intelligence infrastructure in Finland, its largest single investment in Europe to date. The funds are to be invested over the next two years, including new data centers and other supporting infrastructure, as well as partnerships in the Finnish cities and municipalities of Hamina, Kajaani, Muhos and Vaala, it said. Data centers will be constructed in Kajaani, Muhos and Vaala, while Google’s existing data center in Hamina will be expanded.” (09/09/26)
- US forces strike Iranian oil tankers, Tehran targets Jordan base, US warships
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“The United States has attacked five Iranian oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman and near Kharg Island after accusing Tehran of launching ballistic missiles at a US warship twice in two days. Iran responded to Tuesday’s attacks by firing missiles at US forces stationed at the Al Azraq base in Jordan. It also claimed additional strikes on at least two US vessels and eight tankers in the region, saying the assaults caused ‘great damage’.” (09/09/26)
- Trump escalates war on US economy, bans some Canadian imports
Source: Axios
“President Trump said the U.S. would ban Canadian alcohol, some dairy products and large motorcycles, sharply escalating a trade war largely fought with tariffs. The measures deepen the economic rift between countries that have spent decades interlinking commerce, threatening disruption for businesses and consumers on both sides of the border. The import bans take effect Sept. 29, effectively cutting off U.S. market access for the targeted Canadian goods rather than simply making them more expensive. … Trade tensions have ratcheted up swiftly since U.S.-Canada talks collapsed last month. The U.S. imposed 50% tariffs on [American buyers of] roughly $20 billion of Canadian goods. Canada hit back with tariffs of up to 50% on ][Canadian buyers of] a similar amount of U.S. goods, a measure that took effect earlier Tuesday.” (09/08/26)
https://www.axios.com/2026/09/08/trump-tariffs-canada-import-ban-alcohol-dairy-motorcycles
- Russian drones kill two at Ukraine-Moldova border crossing, authorities say
Source: Reuters
“Russian drones hit a border crossing between Ukraine and Moldova in the southern region of Odesa, killing two people, and attacked the country’s capital Kyiv overnight, Ukrainian authorities said on Wednesday. Two civilians near the Starokozache crossing were killed and three others injured in the attack, Governor Oleh Kiper said on Telegram. Passengers and vehicle traffic was temporarily halted across the border after the attack, which caused a major fire, officials said. Russia also attacked Kyiv overnight, causing fires but no casualties, emergency services said in a Telegram post.” (09/09/26)
- Kavanagh won’t revive Missouri’s GOP congressional re-gerrymander for midterms
Source: The Hill
“Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh on Tuesday refused to restore Missouri’s new congressional map, which was poised to give Republicans a pickup opportunity this November, but the map’s fate remains unclear after a ruling in a separate lawsuit. Missouri Republicans hope to return to the new 7-1 House map favoring them after the Show Me State’s top court ruled officials must revert to their its existing GOP-leaning 6-2 House map for the midterm elections. Kavanaugh, an appointee of President Trump, handles emergency matters arising from Missouri by default. His one-sentence order declining to intervene contained no explanation. It appeared to be a setback for Republicans, who had hoped to dismantle and flip a Kansas City-area seat held by Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D).” (09/08/26)
https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/6077470-supreme-court-missouri-congressional-map/
- NH: Sununu wins GOP’s US Senate primary, will face Pappas in November
Source: The Guardian [UK]
“Former senator John E Sununu triumphed on Tuesday in the New Hampshire Republican Senate primary [versus] Scott Brown, earning the GOP nod in what will likely be a must-win race if Democrats hope to seize the upper chamber. … Sununu will face congressman Chris Pappas, who beat back a progressive challenger in the Democratic primary, advancing as most observers expected to what will be a closely watched general election that is critical to Democratic hopes of flipping the upper chamber.” (09/08/26)
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/sep/08/new-hampshire-republican-senate-primary
- Germany: Suspect arrested in power grid attacks after dayslong search
Source: ABC News
“Police arrested a suspect Tuesday in connection with a series of attacks on power distribution systems across Germany which had led to a massive, dayslong search. A 48-year-old man was arrested near a power plant in Weisweiler, in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The man … was in possession of explosives and offered no resistance at the time of his arrest, Cologne police said in a statement. … The incidents took place as the country was on high alert after the government blamed Russia for an attempted attack at Leipzig/Halle Airport on Aug. 4 using a drone laden with explosives.” (09/8/260
- Putin assures Trump that Moscow doesn’t have aggressive plans toward Europe, Kremlin says
Source: SFGate
“Russian President Vladimir Putin assured U.S. President Donald Trump in a phone call Tuesday that Moscow doesn’t harbor aggressive intentions toward Europe, a senior Kremlin official said, after European officials blamed Moscow for sabotage campaigns on their soil. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said meanwhile that U.S. envoys who visited Kyiv presented some ‘very good, worthwhile ideas’ for ending Russia’s 4 1/2-year-old war, adding that he hopes to meet with Trump within two weeks. But Russia remains determined to accomplish its military goals and it believes it is close to winning, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. Ukrainian and Western observers, however, believe that Moscow has been unable to make any significant progress on the front line. The war could yet drag on for years as Russia reconstitutes its forces and its defense industry, said U.S. Undersecretary of Defense Elbridge Colby. ‘We must be prepared for a protracted conflict and for Ukraine’s requirements to persist in the months and years ahead’, Colby told an online meeting of countries helping Ukraine.” (09/08/26)
- Adjudicating “History and Tradition”
Source: Law & Liberty
by Dennis Wieboldt“A Massachusetts case reminds us of the dangers and abuses of using history in legal rulings.” (09/09/26)
- 25 Years of War Was the Exact Wrong Response to 9/11
Source: Common Dreams
by Medea Benjamin & Nicolas JS Davies“The lesson of 9/11 should be that war is not the answer to any of the problems facing the United States. After inflicting violence and chaos on country after country for twenty-five years in a ‘global war on terror’ that has evolved into a Zionist genocide and a revived Cold War against Russia and China, the widespread public opposition to Trump’s war on Iran suggests that most Americans have finally learned that lesson. Unfortunately, powerful sections of our corrupt business and political elites have not.” (09/09/26)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/was-the-us-reaction-to-9-11-wrong
- Home Equity and Net Worth
Source: Bet On It
by Bryan Caplan“Age is the great underrated factor. If you want to know how much home equity someone owns, knowing their percentile for their age is less informative than simply knowing their age. Almost everyone starts with low housing wealth, yet a large majority end up with massive housing wealth.” (09/09/26)
- We cannot let the left [sic] rewrite what happened on 9/11
Source: Fox News
by Liz Peek“As we approach the 25th anniversary of 9/11, there are many in our country who want us to pretend that the greatest attack on the United States since Pearl Harbor never happened. They want us to look away from the Muslim terrorists who flew planes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, and who drove another plane full of innocents to their deaths in a grassy Pennsylvania field. They want us to forget that on that day in 2001, Americans came under attack for reasons that few understood, from a far-away people who loathe our culture, our freedoms and our country. When Rep. Ilhan Omar [D-MN] dismissively says, ‘Some people did something’, she is trying to erase the truth. ” (09/09/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/liz-peek-cannot-let-left-rewrite-happened-911
- The Failure of Europe’s Single-Payer Health Monopoly
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Cláudia Ascensão Nunes“American progressives continue to advocate for a Medicare for All system, pointing to the Old Continent as a utopian model of universal access to health care. However, in Europe, systems in which the state functions as both direct provider and single-payer monopolist continue to fail. Contrary to the narrative pushed by certain political circles, Europeans are increasingly adopting private health insurance. The structural flaws in countries that double down on centralized, state-run models show notable consistencies: swelling waiting lists, health care professionals fleeing a public sector constrained by rigid salary scales, and a systemic inability to allocate resources where they are needed most.” (09/09/26)
https://fee.org/articles/the-failure-of-europes-single-payer-health-monopoly/
- Remapping fresh worldviews
Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff“The term geopolitics, frequently used in discussing global diplomacy and trade relations today, was coined only about 125 years ago. But the concept has been around far, far longer, as evident in the practice of cartography or mapmaking since ancient times. One of the earliest known world maps – created by the Babylonians in 600 B.C.E. – placed Babylonia at the center. Since then, seafaring and colonizing nations in particular have done much the same, centering their locations or adjusting sizes to project global reach and relevance. ‘A map is never neutral’, according to Robert Dussey, foreign minister of the small African nation of Togo. ‘It shapes perceptions, influences how the place of peoples and continents in the world is understood,’ he said at a United Nations briefing last week.” (09/08/26)
https://www.csmonitor.com/Editorials/the-monitors-view/2026/0908/Remapping-fresh-worldviews
- The PREP Act: Unchecked Power, Zero Accountability, and a Path Forward
Source: Brownstone Institute
by Robert Malone‘Beginning in February 2020, the Secretary of Health and Human Services declared that Covid-19 warranted sweeping liability protections, meaning that if someone was injured or died from a Covid-19 vaccine, treatment, or related product, they generally cannot sue for damages in court. The only exception is for ‘willful misconduct’ causing death or serious injury—an extremely high legal standard that is very difficult to prove. Instead of accessing the traditional court system, injured individuals must seek compensation through a government program that has historically been difficult to navigate and provides limited relief.” (09/09/26)
https://brownstone.org/articles/the-prep-act-unchecked-power-zero-accountability-and-a-path-forward/
- Self-Command Is the Price of Freedom
Source: Mindset Shifts
by Barry Brownstein“Those who split the world into binaries—voluntary exchange on one side, state coercion on the other—miss a lot. They miss the enormous third thing Adam Smith described: the unenforced realm of ‘propriety,’ the decency, manners, and mutual forbearances that no contract specifies and no statute compels. If we want less state, we must have more propriety. A friend of liberty has a larger stake in the moral condition of society than the statist does.” (09/09/26)
https://mindsetshifts.substack.com/p/self-command-is-the-price-of-freedom
- What Makes Pharmaceutical Speaker Programs Illegal?
Source: The Daily Economy
by Christopher Crennen“The missing consumer in health care helps explain the strange economics — and legal risks — of drug companies paying doctors.” (09/09/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/what-makes-pharmaceutical-speaker-programs-illegal/
- Why CPI Ignores Homes, Stocks, and the Cost of Getting Ahead
Source: The Daily Economy
by Karl-Friedrich Israel“Capturing only what households consume, inflation stats miss the assets they hope to own. Recent inflation has rewarded existing owners at the expense of aspiring ones.” (09/09/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/why-cpi-ignores-homes-stocks-and-the-cost-of-getting-ahead/
- Lock and [Re-]Loaded: Third Circuit Greenlights Major Challenge to NJ Gun Liability Law
Source: Jonathan Turley
by Jonathan Turley“Some of us have been closely following challenges to A1765, New Jersey’s gun industry liability law. In my view, the law is facially invalid and preempted under federal law, and we may now find out after the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit greenlit a challenge from the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) yesterday. The court found that the NSSF has standing to bring the lawsuit, which could reach the United States Supreme Court. In 2022, New Jersey enacted A1765 to expose ‘gun industry members’ (gun sellers, manufacturers, distributors, importers, and marketers) to lawsuits as ‘a public nuisance’. This is a common effort among blue states to circumvent Second Amendment cases that reinforce the right to bear arms. These laws are designed to achieve indirectly what the Court denied directly to the states: to effectively suppress the availability of guns.” (09/09/26)
- Why Conservative Republicans Are Worried About License Plate Cameras
Source: Reason
by Jacob Sullum“Last month, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott froze state funding for automated license plate readers (ALPRs), acknowledging concerns about the warrantless surveillance enabled by such AI-assisted cameras. Abbott took that step the day after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a fellow Republican, declared that ALPRs are ‘out of control.’ … The congressional response to ALPRs, including several bills and an investigation that Sen. Josh Hawley (R–Mo.) announced last month, has been dominated by conservative Republicans, which confirms that the backlash is not limited to libertarian or left-leaning critics. Whether it will yield effective constraints is another question.” (09/09/26)
https://reason.com/2026/09/09/why-conservative-republicans-are-worried-about-license-plate-cameras/
- 25 Years Ago, 9/11 Triggered a US Crusade of Torture
Source: Antiwar.com
by Norman Solomon“A quarter-century has passed since the terrorist attack that killed almost 3,000 people in the United States on Sept. 11, 2001. During the first seven years after that mass atrocity, Pentagon spending doubled. The aftermath of 9/11 was also a huge boost for ‘the intelligence community.’ Despite – and because of – their failure to prevent the carnage on that day, the CIA and the National Security Agency as well as 14 smaller spy agencies boomed with enormous jolts of funds. Along the way, some line items paid for torture that persisted during the George W. Bush presidency under the euphemism of ‘enhanced interrogation techniques.'” (09/09/26)
https://original.antiwar.com/solomon/2026/09/08/25-years-ago-9-11-triggered-a-us-crusade-of-torture/
- Hegseth has been a disaster. It’s time for Trump to fire him.
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Daniel L Davis“On November 12, 2024, I went on NBC News when Hegseth had been announced as Trump’s nominee for secretary of defense and argued that Hegseth might be just what we need, instead of another standard military-industrial-complex ‘veteran’ who never met a war he didn’t like. But I included two key caveats in my support. First, I argued that he had to be different from his predecessors and not just be a yes-man who prosecutes wars even if a sober analysis reveals we could not win them. Second, I warned that if we continued to support other wars and saw our stocks of key weapons systems plummet – especially missiles – he had to tell the president we could not go down that path (as it would put our own national security in unnecessary peril). Hegseth violated both of those warnings.” (09/09/26)
- ‘Trumpapalooza’ is a sad, unnecessary spectacle that achieves nothing
Source: Los Angeles Times
“In the 19th century and much of the 20th century, the quadrennial party conventions were indispensable pieces of political technology. I mean that literally. Traditionally, conventions were where party stakeholders — elected officials, party bosses, etc. — chose the nominee. Factions representing regions, interests, even ideas (how quaint!) would debate and horse-trade with each other, sometimes over days of voting, to name someone the party could get behind. That system started to atrophy in the 1930s, as Michael Barone, the great political analyst, has argued, because of the telephone. … Polling, and then television, further sapped away the function of conventions. … party conventions essentially became infomercials ratifying a fait accompli. The brokered convention — even the prospect for one — is gone now, replaced by a coronation. But at least the coronation still serves a purpose. It’s still a necessary function of our electoral system. A boring, intelligence-insulting, performative function, but a function all the same. This midterm ‘convention’ isn’t even that.” (09/09/26)
- Cattle Ranchers Have a Beef With Trump
Source: The American Prospect
by David Dayen & Zachary Groz“On the day that the Trump administration announced the importation of 300,000 metric tons of ground beef without tariffs in an attempt to reduce current sky-high retail prices, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released its monthly Cattle on Feed Report, which showed growth in the amount of cattle on feedlots but at much lower percentages than estimated. Placements were also historically tight, at the lowest level for July in 30 years. What this means in layman’s terms is that ranchers should have been able to earn higher prices for heads of cattle, since supply was at a premium, for the first time in a while. After decades of falling profitability, over half of cattle ranches have shuttered in the U.S.” (09/09/26)
https://prospect.org/2026/09/09/trump-meat-cattle-ranchers-beef/
- A Mail Voting Fight About Nothing
Source: The Dispatch
by Stephen Richer“On Sunday, the Trump administration made its third appeal in less than six weeks to the Supreme Court, seeking to move ahead with implementing a role for the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) in overseeing mail ballots as some blue states try to block it. … There’s been lots of talk about election law, the president’s powers, whether the postal service can actually execute the role the president has tasked it with, and whether election administrators could handle the last-minute change. But overlooked in all the discussions is the fact that the administration is pursuing a change that will do nothing to make our elections more secure.” (09/09/26)
https://thedispatch.com/article/postal-service-mail-ballots-trump-administration-supreme-court/
- Trump’s Venezuelan Oil Deal Is a Big Gamble
Source: The American Conservative
by Joseph Addington“t the end of August, President Donald Trump announced a major deal with the government of Venezuela. The agreement would give the U.S. functional control of about 20 percent of Venezuela’s oil, which equates to over 65 billion barrels—or almost one and a half times more oil than the United States has in its own current proven reserves (which total approximately 46 billion barrels). … Trump, ever the dealmaker, appears to view this as the capstone of his Venezuela policy. Superficially, it bears the hallmarks of a triumph for a kind of crude foreign policy realism: American hard power, deployed narrowly, forced cooperation from a previously hostile neighbor and secured material benefits for the United States. … Despite the president’s enthusiasm, however, the Venezuelan oil deal is a clumsy instrument that introduces significant risks.” (09/09/26)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/trumps-venezuelan-oil-deal-is-a-big-gamble/
- Trump’s Executive Order on Mail-in Ballots is an Assault on Federalism and Separation of Powers
Source: The Volokh Conspiracy
by Ilya Somin“President Donald Trump is trying to force states to severely curtail mail voting for the fall election by requiring the US Postal Service to refuse to deliver mail ballots unless states meet various onerous requirements. This plan is an affront to both federalism and the separation of powers. The Constitution grants state governments default authority over election administration, subject to override by Congress, when it comes to procedural rules for federal elections. Trump is seeking to usurp these powers.” (09/08/26)
- LCR = LGB: YAY!
Source: Town Hall
by Deroy Murdock“Log Cabin Republicans, the GOP’s natural home for gay conservatives, recently filed for divorce from the transgender movement. High time and Hallelujah! As LCR’s president, Ross Hemminger, explained August 20 in Townhall: ‘In 2015, the Log Cabin Republicans Board of Directors voted to add the ‘T’ under the umbrella of our mission — out of a belief that all adults should be allowed to pursue their own happiness, free of government interference, as long as it did not impede on the inalienable rights of others.’ Hemminger’s thoughts parallel America’s innate libertarianism. When, for instance, fully grown decathlete Bruce Jenner became Caitlin, it was not everyone’s Olympic Gold Medal moment. However, it also was nobody’s javelin to discard but Jenner’s. Since then, Hemminger continued, ‘The transgender movement has ceased focusing on adults at all; nearly all of their efforts and those of their aligned special interest groups focus on minors.'” (09/09/26)
https://townhall.com/columnists/deroymurdock/2026/09/09/lcr-lgb-yay-n2682665
- ‘Stolen valor’: Trump’s 9/11 story draws scorn as fabrication
Source: Asia Times
by Stephen Prager“While Republicans express ‘offense’ at plans for New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani to attend September 11 remembrances this week due to his Muslim faith, US President Donald Trump provoked outrage on Tuesday when he told what seems to be a fabricated story about his heroism following the terrorist attack. … Trump has claimed on multiple occasions to have been present in the immediate aftermath of the attacks and has told a version of the same story before, including on the 2016 campaign trail. But many aspects of the tale are in doubt or contradicted by both the public record and others known to be involved in the recovery.” (09/09/26)
https://asiatimes.com/2026/09/stolen-valor-trumps-9-11-story-draws-scorn-as-fabrication/
- Bypassing the grid won’t save us from having to build more of it
Source: Niskanen Center
by Rachel Levine“The ‘co-location’ of power plants and large energy users on the same site is gaining traction as a way to provide electricity to data centers without raising household bills. It seems like a quick fix but is really a symptom of a grid that has struggled to anticipate and meet rising demand. While co-location may provide near-term relief for select industries willing to pay for it, it won’t scale to keep power reliable and affordable for everyone. To do that, we need interregional, high-voltage transmission to arbitrage power over long distances to serve load wherever it is.” [editor’s note: No, we need decentralized and localized generation. “The grid” is obsolete technology – TLK] 09/08/26)
https://www.niskanencenter.org/bypassing-the-grid-wont-save-us-from-having-to-build-more-of-it/
- What Does a Streetcar System Cost?
Source: Show-Me Institute
by Patrick Tuohey“Kansas City just spent over $100 million per mile for its Main Street streetcar extension, making it the most expensive system per mile in the United States. Last year, Randall O’Toole estimated that the average streetcar cost per mile is around $91 million. It’s worth looking at some recent examples to see if that number is accurate. Looking at recently opened systems (see table below), the cost per mile seems to be lower, at about $61.6 million.” (09/08/26)
https://showmeinstitute.org/article/corporate-welfare/what-does-a-streetcar-system-cost/
- Train Crashes Destroyed Their Towns, Will Yours Be Next?
Source: In These Times
by Maximillian Alvarez“Nearly 10 years before the train derailment and subsequent chemical disaster in East Palestine, Ohio, the town of Lac-Mégantic, Quebec experienced one of the deadliest rail disasters in North America. On July 6, 2013, a runaway train derailed in the center of town, leveling buildings and dumping millions of tons of crude oil onto the surrounding area. 47 people were killed in the explosion. In July, Maximillian Alvarez and Dr. Nicole Fabricant sat down with a panel of guests from East Palestine and Lac-Mégantic to discuss what happens when your town becomes a sacrifice zone and how residents can join together to fight back against the corporations responsible.” (09/08/26)
https://inthesetimes.com/article/train-crashes-destroyed-towns-working-people-podcast-east-palestine
- Higher Ed’s Great Correction: ‘Necessity Is the Mother of Invention’
Source: Independent Institute
by Richard K Vedder“The university establishment is getting an overdue education in markets, mission, and public trust.” (09/08/26)
- Stop Letting Politicians Milk 9/11 For Their Own Benefit
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp“As of September 8, Forbes reports, more than 100,000 people have signed a petition asking organizers of New York City’s 9/11 Commemoration Ceremony to ‘carefully consider whether [New York City mayor Zohran] Mamdani’s participation would align with the intention of the ceremony and the expectations of the families most directly affected by the tragedy.’ Coming from family members of people who died in the 9/11 attacks, the petition deserves a respectful hearing, whether the claims about Mamdani’s sentiments, sympathies and past actions ring true or not. They’re the people who lost loved ones. The ceremony is, or should be, for them. Unfortunately, some less deserving people compulsively run to the front of parades that aren’t about them. One such person is former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani.” (09/08/26)
- America After 9/11: 25 Years of Fear, War, Surveillance and Permanent Emergency
Source: Rutherford Institute
by John & Nisha Whitehead“Twenty-five years after 9/11, one has to ask: has the nightmare ever really ended? For a quarter-century, Americans have been governed by fear: fear of terrorists and foreign enemies, fear of domestic extremists and political opponents, fear of the next attack, the next crisis, the next emergency.That fear has given us endless war, mass surveillance, militarized police, secret courts, indefinite detention, government watchlists, domestic military deployments and an imperial presidency armed with powers that would have been unthinkable before 9/11. Now the man entrusted with the imperial powers of the modern-day presidency is publicly imagining himself enthroned over robotic armies, raining destruction on his enemies and promising nightmares. The imagery may be unhinged from reality, but the powers of the presidency are not.” (09/08/26)
- A Republic, If You Can Keep It
Source: Independent Institute
by William J Watkins, Jr.“An appreciation of the Constitution’s role in fashioning the American republic must begin with the American Revolution. More precisely, the impetus for the Revolution. The literature of the period yields one overarching theme: self-government.” (09/08/26)
https://www.independent.org/article/2026/09/08/a-republic-if-you-can-keep-it/
- Bite by Bite: The Value of Virtue Signaling
Source: Liberalism.org
by Sarah Skwire“One of the reasons some people scoff at virtue signaling is because they say it is performative—that the actions taken by virtue signalers are only done because other people see them. … But I think the performative aspect is exactly why virtue signaling is valuable. I marched because I wanted my kids to know that anti-immigrant actions and sentiments are not something that I will silently accept. I marched because I wanted my neighbors to know the same thing. And, though I didn’t know it when I set out, I marched because I wanted the families who stood in their doorways wearing traditional dress from their home countries to see friendly faces on the sidewalks of their town on a day when they felt threatened. None of that will change the political kerfuffle over immigration one bit. But it might help change my neighborhood just a little. And that’s valuable to me.” (09/08/26)
https://www.liberalism.org/p/bite-by-bite-the-value-of-virtue-signaling
- An Attack on Tech Freedom, an Assault on Dissent
Source: Center for a Stateless Society
by staff“We live in a world of surveillance states, militarized police, and crackdowns on dissent. Meanwhile, corporate behemoths will often ally with the state to shut down dissident speech or aid and abet surveillance. In this context, it’s important for independent groups to develop and maintain encrypted communications platforms and independent web hosting. But the Trump administration recently declared that an Italian tech collective is a ‘Specially Designated Global Terrorist’ for doing exactly this. … The executive branch can unilaterally declare that a provider of web hosting, email services, and other communications infrastructure is a ‘Specially Designated Global Terrorist.’ By doing so, they can impose sanctions, and thereby destroy that provider. This can impose serious costs on speakers, organizers, and researchers that use the providers’ services. And the executive branch can do all of this unilaterally. No charges, warrants, trial, or due process is necessary.” (09/08/260
- Congress spends $7 trillion. Here’s how that math works out if you think of just $100
Source: Fox News
by Ted Jenkin“You work. You get paid. Washington takes its cut. But have you ever stopped to ask one simple question: Where does the money actually go? Forget trillion-dollar numbers for a minute. Most Americans can’t comprehend the difference between $1 trillion and $7 trillion anyway. Let’s shrink Washington down to something we all understand: a $100 bill. In fiscal year 2025, the federal government spent roughly $7 trillion. Social Security alone consumed about $1.6 trillion. Major federal health programs, including Medicare and Medicaid, were another enormous piece. Defense approached $900 billion. And then there’s the number that should make every taxpayer spit out their morning coffee: interest. The federal government spent about $970 billion just on net interest on the national debt. Not roads. Not teachers. Not soldiers. Not Social Security checks.” (09/08/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/congress-spends-7-trillion-heres-math-works-100
- Nothing is Ever Our Fault
Source: Underthrow
by Max Borders“A cultural rot pervades the West. It oozes into the tissues of society, making our civilization infirm. Those who remain unseized by it are becoming acutely aware of its reach. Awareness is the first step to understanding it and giving it an honest assessment. If we are to stop it, we can no longer afford to simply ignore it and hope it goes away. It originates in three underlying pathologies—all psychosocial—that spread like contagions. All three reinforce a central idea that personal responsibility is dead.” (09/08/26)
- Medicare now covers CBD, but Congress wants to ban it
Source: USA Today
by Maddie Salamone & Caitlin Styrsky“A new Medicare pilot program covers hemp-derived cannabidiol (CBD) products to treat certain patients, even as Congress is moving forward with a law that will effectively wipe those same products off the market. The resulting policy quagmire threatens patient access, undermines the work of entrepreneurs and highlights a deeper truth: Hemp already plays a role in American health care, whether federal lawmakers are ready to acknowledge it or not. Millions of Americans across the country are using full-spectrum CBD products not for recreation, but for relief.” (09/08/26)
https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2026/09/08/medicare-cbd-costs-health-insurance/91547732007/
- “You Better Get Ready for … War”: Socialists Call for “War in the Streets” and the End of Capitalism
Source: Jonathan Turley
by Jonathan Turley“‘You better get ready for … war’. Across the country, radicals are openly planning for the next stage of their movement, and notably, the Democratic establishment is not part of their plans. Despite the talk of a ‘Big Tent Party’, socialists are riding high on a surge of support and talking purges and revolution. In Chicago, radicals gathered for a conference on Marxism during what many view as the heyday of socialism in the United States. The Democratic Socialists of America is now larger and more powerful than at any time in our history. Socialist candidates are winning elections across the country as Democratic establishment figures from Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to Gov. Gavin Newsom (CA) pander to the movement. Speakers in Chicago used the conference to push supporters to the next stage in the movement, including some openly calling for violence and the end to capitalism.” (09/08/26)
- America’s Child-Adults
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger“Karyann Parkinson has just been convicted by a Virginia judge of ‘contributing to the delinquency of a minor.’ How did she supposedly do that? She let her 5-year-old son walk to a pond near their home in a gated community to collect goose feathers. An HOA security guard interrupted the kid’s quest, returned him to his mother, and called the cops. Parkinson was arrested and then convicted. The case raises important issues regarding parental rights, children’s rights, and the role of the state in matters relating to the welfare of children. Rather than address the Parkinson case, however, I wish to confront what I consider is a much bigger problem regarding parent-child relations: the role of the American people as child-adults and the role of the federal government’s role as their daddy.” (09/08/260
- Ron Paul Liberty Report, 09/09/26
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
“Gallup: 89% of America Sees Widespread Corruption In Government.” (09/09/26)
- Rising, 09/09/26
Source: The Hill
‘VP JD Vance’s socialist welfare Plan exposed: Conservatives Feuding!” (09/09/26)
- Reasonably Optimistic, 09/09/26
Source: Washington Post
“The strange truth behind our obsession with UFOs and aliens.” (09/09/26)
- Freedom Works with Paul Molloy, 09/09/26
Source: Freedom Works
“Ryan Young, Competitive Enterprise Institute ‘US-Canada Trade War.'” (09/09/26)
https://internetradiopros.com/freedomworks/?name=2026-09-09_zfw89022026.mp3
- The Remnant with Jonah Goldberg, 09/09/26
Source: The Dispatch
“Telephone Killed the Convention | Interview: Chris Stirewalt.” (09/09/26)
https://thedispatch.com/podcast/remnant/telephone-killed-the-convention-interview-chris-stirewalt/
- Politics Politics Politics, 09/08/26
Source: Politics Politics Politics
“Why It’s So Hard to Make Sense of These Midterms (with Chris Cillizza).” (09/08/26)
https://www.politicspoliticspolitics.com/p/why-its-so-hard-to-make-sense-of
- Show-Me Institute, 09/09/26
Source: Show-Me Institute
“A Better Way to Teach History with Jon Bassett and Gary Shiffman.” (09/09/26)
- Real Unity, episode 21
Source: Free the People
“Honor, Legacy, and the Gods: Building a Modern Norse Spiritual Community | Devin Rogers.” (09/09/26)
- Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 09/08/26
Source: Antiwar.com
“US Bombs More Iranian Tankers; IRGC Hits Back, Major Ansar Allah Attacks on Saudi Arabia, and More.” (09/08/26)
- Nonzero, 09/08/26
Source: bloggingheads.tv
“Israel’s Lobby | Robert Wright, Eli Clifton, and Ian Lustick.” (09/08/26)
- Scooter Downey on The Scott Horton Show
Source: The Scott Horton Show
“Scott interviews Scooter Downey, a producer at the Tucker Carlson Network, about his new documentary series on the Oklahoma City bombing.” (09/08/26)
- Reason Roundtable, 09/08/26
Source: Reason
“Why Public Schools Lost 1.4 Million Students.” (09/08/26)
https://reason.com/podcast/2026/09/08/why-public-schools-lost-1-4-million-students/
- Capital Record, episode 320
Source: National Review
“Gratitude for Higher Football Costs.” (09/08/26)
https://www.nationalreview.com/podcasts/capital-record/gratitude-for-higher-football-costs/
- Ron Paul Liberty Report, 09/08/26
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
“‘Golden Age’ Iran War Update: Americans Have Paid $100B in Extra Energy Costs.” (09/08/26)
- Rising, 09/08/26
Source: The Hill
“Socialists praise ‘fatness and ugliness’, attack MAHA’s ‘Health fascism.’” (09/08/260
- Reason Interview: CJ Ciaramella
Source: Reason
“Why America’s Prisons Keep Failing.” (09/08/26)
https://reason.com/podcast/2026/09/08/why-americas-prisons-keep-failing/
- The Dispatch Podcast, 09/08/26
Source: The Dispatch Podcast
“After Trump.” (09/08/26)
https://thedispatch.com/podcast/dispatch-podcast/the-very-bad-midterms-to-come-for-the-gop/
- Checks & Balances, 09/08/26
Source: Checks & Balances
“Everybody Agrees: This is a Rule of Law Imperative.” (09/08/26)
https://chkbal.substack.com/p/everybody-agrees-this-is-a-rule-of
- Radio Atlantic, 09/07/26
Source: The Atlantic
“How the Government Wastes Our Time.” (09/07/26)
https://www.theatlantic.com/podcasts/2026/09/ra-the-time-tax/688503
- Trump Watch, 09/08/26
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
“Scapegoats for Federal Crises.” (09/08/26)